Dale Earnhardt Jr. He is not getting it done as a driver. But signing Patrick would be a coup for Dale Jr., the brand. Inking Patrick secures sponsorship dollars that free up resources for JR Motorsports to use on other Nationwide Series endeavors. Danica’s two-year contract was also brokered through Rick Hendrick, which should help Dale Jr. gain some job security at Hendrick past next season. Yes, I know Dale Jr. is a moneymaker. But Dale Jr. was the one who said Hendrick didn’t need him upon signing a few years ago. This is an equity builder for a person who has been hemorrhaging for two years.

Rick Hendrick. How sweet is it to have Nationwide Series development without having it under your umbrella? If Patrick is any good, there’s a natural opportunity for her to sign with Hendrick when Mark Martin retires. If Patrick stinks, Hendrick takes none of the blame because all he provides is technical and motor support. All the gain, none of the pain. No wonder he’s won 2,133,494,236 titles.

Lose

Michael Waltrip. I have no idea what realistic chance Waltrip had of signing Patrick. But it would have been a monumental step for his race team. Not only would there be enhanced name recognition on new platforms, it would have provided ample money to better support his Sprint and Nationwide Series teams. Plus, the commercials would have been awesome.

The IRL. Imagine your three-time series champion bolts to your rival and can’t sniff the Chase. Oh wait. That’s Sam Hornish Jr. Now imagine your defending Indy 500 Champion bolts to your rival and can’t make it through half a season. No sense in imagining. It’s Dario Franchitti. Now imagine your biggest star bolts for a rival company to work in their minor leagues. I’d like “Inferiority Complex” for $1,000,000,000,000,000 Alex.

Draw

Danica Patrick. Patrick will make gobs of money. But she’s won one race, and that was a fuel duel. Still, a win is a win and she is competitive in the IRL. That said, being great in the IRL has gotten jack and squat in NASCAR. It is a different kind of racing. Plus, there are a ton of young drivers who will try to make a name for themselves at Danica’s expense. And nobody has tried to run open-wheel and stock cars for an entire season simultaneously. It’s quite possible Danica will find a home racing stock cars. It’s equally possible she’ll fall flat on her face. Just as it’s possible she’ll end up somewhere in the middle. Regardless of what happens, we’ll all be watching.